Nod's Greeting Card
by Quaker nuts
Summary: Nod soldiers, GDI soldiers, mutants, sides matter no more other than the one that you are conscripted for. One teenager will find this out for himself. Going from "I don't want to fight!" to "Down with GDI!"
1. prologue

Prologue

**Prologue**

An explosion ripped across the front of the gate, smearing the Nod symbol of a scorpion's tail with dirt and blood. The blast sent out shards of metal in every which direction, randomly injuring anyone that came within their path. Kirk Tyreek, sergeant and long time veteran of Nod, overlooked the carnage that now lay before him. The attack had come without warning. GDI was advancing with their troops backed up by walker support consisting of Titans, Wolverines, and the dreaded Mammoth MKII. It was not surprising that they had decided to attack this specific base. It was a training ground for new initiates to the brotherhood; hopefuls willing to give their life in the name of Kane. As long as the base was up and operational, around two hundred new initiates would flow in every two months. GDI could not stand for this. So they had started their surprise attack by attacking their power plants with an EMP; knocking them out, and any cyborgs next to them. All turrets were offline, but the good news was that the gate would no longer open. That simply held off the inevitable.

"Damn it, shoot straight! Aim and fire, not lift and shoot! Remember your training! In the name of Kane!" A chorus answered him.

"Kane lives in death!"

"Damn rights! Now, keep your heads down! We will treat these GDI bastards the same way we treat stray dogs; a boot to the ass and a fist to the face!" A roar of approval chained its way down the trenches as Kirk could literally see his men's morale rise. He looked onto the field that now lay in front of him from the wall. It seemed like an endless tide of yellow was washing over them for cleansing. There was few soldiers left on the wall, but they fought valiantly, refusing to give up. One by one, they fell to the onslaught of pulse rifle fire and 120mm shells. The initiate next to him went to say something, but his head suddenly exploded, adding more red and gore to his red and black armor. The body fell in slow motion, and Kirk looked up to see a Titan staring straight at him. He dived off the wall just as the shell hit the concrete. He landed in a roll, and was up and running before he even really knew where he was going. Soon, he reached the trenches where the rest of the initiates were now holed up. Then everything slowed down.

For the first time since the battle began, there was an uneasy silence. Nothing could be heard except the nervous shuffling of the initiates in their armor, and the fast paced breathing that came with being afraid. He wanted to yell at his initiates to shape up, that death was not yet here, but he could not find the words. His throat seemed to close up, making it hard for him to breathe. He was a veteran, but this was one fight he knew he was not going to win. One fight he knew there would be no glorious reward for. He controlled his breathing, and looked down the rows.

His men were armed with pulse rifles and rockets, but this would only buy them time. He knew what had to be done. He gestured to his second in command, Jareed Lucien. "Kane favors us with a glorious death corporal, and I will see to it that it is received." The corporal nodded through his mask. Even he knew that no matter what, this base must not fall into enemy hands. If it were, they would learn of all other training camps around Europe. Kirk could not let this happen; he would not let it happen.

"Stand fast my brothers! Kane greets us with open arms! We are his children, and are treated as such. We will not let our father down will we?!"

"No sergeant!" A roar came from his troops. Even now, he could see the welder making its way through the thick gate. Apparently they wanted prisoners and information that was too valuable to risk blowing apart.

"Will we not teach these GDI sons of bitches that we are the sons of a prophet?!"

"Yes sergeant!"

"We will! In the name of Kane!"

"Kane lives in death!" The reply was slightly weaker than usual, so he put a bit more emphasis on his words.

"In the name of Kane!"

"Kane lives in death!" It was a little stronger, but he needed his men to be at their peak; with even more emphasis.

"In the name of Kane!"

"Kane lives in death!" This time, there was a roar as soldiers lifted their weapons and started yelling for GDI to come. They wanted blood. They wanted to be remembered. They wanted to protect their father. Kirk gave a nod, and just as he did, the gate burst open.

GDI troops immediately stormed in, and were met with a barrage of pulse fire as one after the other was put down. GDI was not to outdone, as they brought in disk throwers to lighten the load. Most of the grenades bounced over their presumed target, and exploded harmlessly behind them. However, some of them met their marks, and Kirk would never get those screams out of his head as their bodies were blown to bits. To their credit, the Nod line never stumbled. Simply shaking them off, and continuing to fight. However, the GDI soldiers were like the locust, too numerous to count, and for everyone you killed, there was five to take its place.

GDI had made its way inside now, and was using the rubble from the walls as cover, along with assorted empty supply crates. It looked like it was going to be sooner rather than later for the defeat. Kirk fired his pulse rifle, and caught one of the GDI soldiers in the shoulder, making him fly to the ground. A couple of comrades tried to pull him out of the fire, and were quickly mowed down by the line of Nod troopers. Then the big machines started pouring through.

Wolverines started quickly pouring through the crowd of GDI soldiers, intent on breaking the line of the Nod soldiers with its presence alone. Little did it know that they still had rockets in the line. As stream after stream of rockets went after the wolverine did it finally realize its mistake. It started to back up, but was hit in the legs with four rockets. The entire thing collapsed to the ground, followed by more rockets. The pilot's screams were drowned by rocket fire.

It was utter mayhem as soldier after soldier from both sides fell. Kirk had seen battles like these before, and he had come out of them before. A part of him felt disappointed to not make the rank of Lieutenant, but a part of him was glad that he had served a long term with the brotherhood. It was all that he could ask for.

As another Nod soldier fell, Kirk picked this time to get things ready. He jumped out of the trench, and went to the HQ building. A few soldiers stared at him as he went, but then immediately understood what was going to happen. They returned to firing.

Kirk made it to the HQ within a few seconds, and made his way to the comm. center. The room was huge, often filled with bustling technicians receiving and sending messages to the brotherhood. It was now eerily empty, the lack of bodies almost giving it a haunting look. It was from here that they got their supplies, their men, and pretty much anything else they needed.

There was a huge screen at the front of the room, used only by high ranking generals and Kane himself. He had yet to see that screen light up since he had gotten here. The room's light had been shut off due to the power outage, but the light shining in from the giant glass windows provided enough light to get to what he was looking for. As he reached a compartment, he removed his glove and placed it on the scanner. Of course, it didn't respond due to the power being out. He mentally slapped himself for forgetting, then quickly grabbed his rifle, and blasted the port until there was a glowing hole in the metal. He grabbed the inside, and forced open the compartment. Inside was a beacon the size of his fist. To the average person, it might look like an oversized grenade, to Kirk; it was an engine of destruction.

Every base had one of these beacons since the massacre of the Alpha Delta base near Paris, where vital information was stolen because the commanding officer hadn't enough time to purge the system. This was a backup. If activated, it would immediately send a nuke from their main base in northern Russia raining down on them. He activated it, said a little prayer to Kane, and placed it behind some cover of a computer desk. Then he noticed something, it had gotten surprisingly quiet. He went to the window, and saw that the line of Nod defenders had been destroyed. Only a few were alive, and held by the GDI troops. Suddenly, a GDI soldier, most likely the commanding officer, made a gesture towards HQ, and several squads raced off towards it. Kirk knew what happened. One of the initiates had opened their mouth, and told them. Kirk snarled. The initiate would forever be lost to Kane's eyes for his treachery.

Then came the sound of boots and yelling as the soldiers made their way up the stairs. Kirk returned to the desk and looked down at the beacon. By its rapid beeping, he could tell the nuke was close. He simply had to stall them long enough. Suddenly GDI soldiers came bursting into the room. "Put the weapon down you Nod piece of shit! Put it down, or we drop you!" They had fanned around the room, and were all pointing their weapons at him. His firearm lay in his hand beside him. He looked down at his gun, then back up at the soldiers. "Don't even think it!" The squad leader said, edging forward ever so slowly, until he heard the beeping. Kirk couldn't see his expression through the face plate, but he guessed it was one of sheer horror. Kirk laughed like a man who had nothing to lose.

"Kane sends his greeting card!" He raised his weapon and fired. In return, the soldiers returned fire. Even as he took hit after hit, he continued to pull the trigger on his way down. He could hear the soldiers yelling to each other, and trying frantically to run down the stairs to tell everyone, but he knew it was too late. The beeping had become one long beep, which meant it was practically here. He gave himself a smile as blood started to fill his helmet. "In the name of Kane…"

He was then enveloped in a bright white light.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"_The brotherhood fought another valiant campaign against the sinister armies of GDI. The soldiers fought with bravery unknown to the GDI soldiers. For every initiate taken by GDI, they took ten with them; more news as follows."_ Jermaine Angus reached over, and hit the power switch for the video screen. It went black with a slight flash, and he returned to eating his breakfast. He brushed his rusty red hair out of his eyes, and picked up another piece of toast. He sat at the small wooden table deep in thought. Why was Nod depicting how brave their soldiers were? Anyone with common sense could tell that they had just simply died. However, anyone with common sense to know that would have enough common sense not to say anything about it. Living deep within Nod controlled territory; they were subject to propaganda and different schooling. They were also subject to execution if they simply looked at a guard wrong. Living here, you had to be very careful on what you said and what you did. The wrong move got you killed, or worse, got your family killed.

Jermy finished his toast, and threw the crust into the garbage. His mother gave him a frown. "You're too skinny to be throwing away good food like that. You know we don't have all the money in the world." His mother was gray with age, but stood tall and firm in her beliefs. She completely believed in Nod and their ways, which is why Jermy said nothing to her about his opinions on what was happening to Nod. One word would get him sent to the nearest guard and shot, it didn't matter that he was her only child; she would not support a 'heretic' as she often called them. Jermy just gave a wide smile which seemed like an ocean of white against his darkly tanned skin. His light blue T-shirt set him apart from everyone else at the school, along with dark blue standard jeans that had rips in the knees from multiple things such as fighting, playing, and simply being clumsy.

"No worries, all I need is a brain in my head and I'm set."

"Then you better go get one." She replied with a quirky smile on her face. No one could tell she was really a Nod fanatic.

Jermy just smiled, and made his way to his backpack by the worn metal counter. He picked it up, and set it on the counter, and prepped his lunch. It consisted of the usual: A ham sandwich, a can of pop, and a tube of vitamin supplements. Jermy's mother claimed it was simply to keep him in tip top shape, but what she really wanted was to one day see her boy in a Nod uniform. He severely hoped that didn't happen. He was a thinker, a planner, not a soldier. He tossed them in a bag, and shoved them into his backpack. He smiled and waved on his way out, and made his way to his car.

Outside, it rank of pollutants and tiberium. Their city was on the very verge of a tiberium field, which was harvested daily by Nod harvesters. It was the main reason there was a heavy presence of Nod soldiers. Even from his door, he saw a squad of five marching their way down the street. The city itself was in a downward spiral. Most of the buildings were decrepit and in need of dire repair, yet none came. They had to make do with makeshift repairs, and went on with their lives. Jermy was thankful that he had the brains to keep things going until they had broken down completely. He had learned the ways of avoiding rust, keeping out infestation, and a many other things that made his life a little more bearable. He sighed, and looked out into the sky. It was dark, and had a slight greenish tinge to it due to the high amounts of tiberium now on growing on the world. The propaganda supported this green crystal, but Jermy knew enough that he should never get near that stuff; the slightest cut, the smallest drop of poison that got into your blood stream and you near immediately started turning into a mutant. He should know, he saw them every day. While they were near immune to it now, they only had a few years to live. He made his way to the beat up car that he called transportation. It used to be a dark blue before years of use, dirt, and tiberium flakes made it slightly brown with a greenish glow at night. Many people would have freaked to know that their car was infected with tiberium, but Jermy knew that the flakes contained too little poison to even turn his little finger green. Just another advantage of being smart. As he entered the car, he tossed his backpack on the ratty seats in the back, and started the car up. It took a couple of tries, but it finally kicked into life. There was still another stop he had to make before getting to school.

As he drove through the broken down city, he could see the mutants that had been kicked out onto the streets, forced to live on the streets due to the fear of being in contact with the green crystal. He kept driving, witnessing the same thing every day, every week, of every year. He felt sorry for them, but at the same time, hated them. He reached into his glove compartment, and shuffled around a couple of papers before grabbing his black shades. He slipped them over his eyes, and closed the compartment. He was not the 'Cool Guy' at school by any standards, but he was well enough known that getting by was not that hard.

His drive took him slightly out of town, past the Nod tiberium refinery, and entered a haven for trailer homes. He drove his way around until he got to a decent trailer with shades over the two windows out front, and scraped white paint. He idled in front of the building for a second, and then slammed the horn. A few seconds later, a well built teenager came bolting out of the trailer, a frying pan in close pursuit. It clanged harmlessly on the ground just a few inches from his feet. Yelling was heard from inside, and then the door closed. Reynold Lewin simply shrugged his shoulders, and walked over to the car. He opened the door, and threw his pack into the back seat with Jermy's. He sat in the car, and closed the door. Jermy looked at him with a wry smile. "Yet another misunderstanding about how the microwave exploded on its own?"

Rey was not a small guy, but neither was he overly big. Living on the outskirts of town had made him muscular, but not to the point of being imposing. His black skin stood out among crowds, and his flashy smile was all that was needed to start a conversation. His bald head often got a few choice jokes from the jocks at the school, but he was quick, and made snappy comebacks that even the jocks couldn't come back from. Eventually, they stopped trying. His black muscle shirt and blue jean shorts with small chains hanging from the pocket gave him that overall 'cool' look. He gave a small smile. "Just because I set it on high for four hours does not mean it was my fault. Besides, this time it was because I ate her supper for tonight. Come on, we don't want to be late for the third time this week."

"No worries Rey, we'll get there." Jermy said as he shifted gears and started heading off. Rey got a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Maybe if you went over the speed limit, we might actually get there early for a change." Rey looked over at Jermy, downright challenging him to do it. One thing he knew about Jermy, he never backed down from a challenge. Jermy shifted gears yet again, and floored it. Rey was suddenly pushed back into his seat as the car sped off at 160 km/h. It was open road for about two minutes before they hit the first turn. This wasn't Jermy's first try at this; he slowed down slightly, and reached beside his seat. There he grabbed the handbrake, and pulled while spinning the wheel to the right. The car drifted, nearly sliding onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street, before pulling out and speeding off again.

The entire time, Rey was cheering and yelling for Jermy to go faster, but he knew his limits. They only had a couple more blocks to go before they got to school. Jermy hit the handbrake again, and spun his wheel to the left. His eyes went wide as he saw a squad of five Nod soldiers crossing the street. He instinctively slammed on the brakes, and swerved to avoid the soldiers, who simply looked at him as he drifted only feet from them. His back end slid, until he finally got control. He drove slowly into the school parking lot, and parked the car in his designated spot. After turning off the car, he realized his breathing was heavy, and he looked over at Rey who was laughing his ass off. "I swear Jermy; you shit your pants back there!" Jermy just shook his head, and stepped out of the vehicle.

After finally reaching the front door, they stepped inside to find that they were early for a change. The first bell had not gone, and the lounge was filled with people. The lounge itself was huge, able to hold at least half of the school population in it at one time. Off to the side was a wall with prayers to Kane that the Nod soldiers had put up there when they first had taken over the place. There was a small concession straight ahead of them where they could get small snacks and drinks. Off to his left were the doors to the gym, and some wooden benches which were currently occupied by some of the so-called jocks of the school. They were currently busy making fun of a kid in grade nine who was busy doing his math homework before first period. "Hey listen Jermy, I got to get some stuff from my locker, and I'll see you first period, alright?"

"Yeah, see you then. I think we have a test first period English." Jermy just slapped his head.

"Shit, I completely forgot about that. I better look those things up once more. See ya later." Jermy waved to his friend as he took the stairs to his right to the second level where there were a few classes and lockers streamed each side of the hallway. Jermy walked forward, and sat himself down at the table in the middle of the lounge. He dropped his bag off to the side of him, and looked around. He was not used to being early, and it felt sort of awkward to be here. He looked over at the corner to see the jocks now looking at him, or apparently at him. Their gaze seemed to pass over him, and he realized what it must be, for he heard someone sit right across from him.

"Hey Jermy, I was wondering if you could tell me what homework we had yesterday?" Jermy looked back to see one of the most popular girls in the school sitting across from him. Vicky Almira. Her hair was naturally red and long enough that it reached to her shoulders in a curly fashion. Her bangs were just over her eyes, and her face had a sharp beauty to it; one that said 'I'm nice until you piss with me." She wore a black Nod T-shirt that was a size too small that it would be tight; such was the image that she was supposed to uphold, along with blue jeans that were also a size too small. She looked at him with innocent eyes. She had always been nice to him, even before he was accepted by everyone. Jermy still had no idea why, he had never done anything for her before except the small things. He looked her in the eyes, and felt his face go red, he quickly looked down into his backpack and pulled out a binder.

"As far as I know, for math we had questions one to nine in section four point three. Other than that I don't think we had any other homework for a change." He kept his gaze to his book, pretending to look for any other homework.

"Thanks Jermy, see you in first period." Her voice was cheerful and kind, the only one out of the entire population of the 'popular' girls. Unless you were a jock, they really didn't pay attention to you. He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He looked behind him to see them smiling menacingly at him. He knew he was going to be the butt end of some joke, but he could get through that. Vicky went and sat with them, and started a conversation. They stopped staring at him to talk to Vicky. Then the bell rang. It was time for first class.

The inside of classroom was not overly huge, but was able to hold thirty kids no problem. On the walls were quotes from books and art projects done from classes before them. At the back of the class was Ms. Paget at her wooden desk. She was not overly old, but enough to be classified as old. She was not the most liked teacher, but she got her point across and kept everyone's grades high. Even those who refused to cooperate by forcing them to work with the grade nines if they refused. That was a humiliation worse than death in this school; a grade twelve working with grade nines. At the front were two whiteboards where Ms. Paget did most of her teaching.

Jermy sat in the middle in the third row of five from the left wall. Beside him sat his faithful friend Rey and a couple desks ahead of him sat Vicky. To his right sat his most hated classmate, Devin Peers. This guy was the very definition of arrogance, and was also one of the 'in' group. So he had plenty of backup if it ever came to fists. He looked over at Jermy, and gave a wicked smile. His brown hair was shaped into a crew cut, and he wore a black T-shirt with the Nod symbol as most of the other kids did now. He wore silky red shorts with black stripes, and had several scars on his face from a variety of sports. With his muscles, he was able to take down anyone in this school. Ms. Paget strode to the front of the class.

"Attention class, today we have a test, so I want a pencil and eraser out. Everything else goes on the floor. I have to get more copies, so I will be right back." She strode out of the room, and as soon as she did, the whole room broke into loud conversations. Jermy turned to talk to Rey, but felt a hand on his shoulder.

"So nerd, you going to get another ninety just to prove you got all brains and no balls?"

Jermy had picked up a few things from Rey, and he knew what to say here. "At least I have one." A confused look came over Devin's face, and then it turned to anger.

"So, you think your some hot shit huh? You are pathetic; you couldn't hold your own against a little doggy the size of your dick!"

"Then that would be a really big dog."

Devin shoved, forcing Jermy out of his seat, but he was up before Devin could get over the seat. The whole room had gone quiet, watching to see what would happen. There was a slight stand still as both of them stared at each other, hatred and anger filling in their eyes. Then Devin laughed. "You don't have enough muscle on you to hurt my pinky, you're a waste of time, but I like time well wasted." Without warning, he came rushing at Jermy, who stepped to the side to avoid the first blow, only to be hit by a backhand from the other hand. The force drilled him to the ground, and Devin was on him in an instant. Just as he was about to land the first punch, a black hand grabbed his arm, and threw him off of Jermy. Rey pulled Jermy to his feet, and they both looked Devin, who had called a few of his buddies to help him.

"I knew you would have your black-ass friend help you out. You're a skinny piece of shit that couldn't hold up a glass of water, let along take me down." Jermy shrugged, and kicked at the nearest desk in front of him. The desk went sliding, and hit Devin in the thigh with enough force to double him over.

"I don't know why you're complaining Devin; after all, you have nothing left anyways." He reeled back up, and he and his friends charged them. Right before the first blow could connect, someone yelled.

"Enough!" It was so demanding of authority, that it even forced Devin and his friends to stop. Everyone turned around to see five Nod soldiers at the door; able to stand there unnoticed through all the confusion. "You both are pathetic! Neither one of you would be able to stand a day against GDI. Everyone sit!" There were no questions as the desks were straightened out and everyone sat down. Jermy brought his hand to his face to find that his nose was bleeding slightly, but he guessed now was a bad time to go check it out. The man who had yelled strode to the front of the class; donned in the standard Nod light infantry armor except for his helmet. Just from his facial expression, you could tell what sort of person this man was. His bald head radiated experience in the field, his eyes projected hatred, anger, ferocity, and determination. His mouth spoke authority and charisma. The other four Nod soldiers took their stance beside him. Two on either side with their pulse rifles held across their chests. The man took a quick look around the room, and his face switched to disgust. "This is all you have? This is worthless! None the less, orders are orders. My name Sergeant Burke and you all had better remember that! I don't have time to baby sit a bunch of spoiled brats. You are, as of this moment, conscripted into Kane's army."

A couple of gasps and shocked expressions mixed with happy faces and ecstatic yells were enough to make the sergeant pause for a second. Jermy didn't know what to think, he had never thought he would find himself fighting in this war; neither did he really want to. Suddenly a girl stood up, one of the popular spoiled girls by the name of Ashley. She was an outspoken person in the class, but she was built like a stick with curves. There was no way she could hold her own in a fight. "Well what about girls, we don't have to fight do we?"

Sergeant Burke gave her an angry glare. "Are you saying you do not want to fight in the name of Kane!?"

She was about to reply, but the glare from Burke kept her silent. Then Ms. Paget came back to the room. "Alright class, everyone be…" She stood shocked at the door, and dropped her papers. Her mouth went to move, but nothing came out. Burke made a pointing finger out the door, and she complied without saying anything; striding away from the class in a shocked stupor.

He made one more scan around the room, stopping to look at Rey, then Jermy, and finally Devin. Jermy didn't know what to make of it, and by Rey's shocked expressoion, he didn't know what to make of it either. "Alright, as of now, you are in training, everyone outside!" A few people looked at each, but a shot of a pulse rifle by one of the soldiers got everyone moving.

Once outside, he had everyone lined up, and a couple of subterranean APC's came drilling out of the ground just in front of the school; grinding up the ground as if it were water. Jermy looked around and could tell people wanted to ask questions, to tell the soldiers off, but no one was brave enough to. The sergeant started barking out names for each APC, and Jermy found himself with Rey, Vicky, and Devin. They made their way over, and patiently made their way in. Then the door closed, and a dim light came on. He looked around. These weren't just kids from his grade, there was kids from grade nine, ten and eleven here as well. They had just conscripted the whole school. He looked over at Vicky, who would have appeared to not have been unfazed by this if her hands had not been shaking uncontrollably. Devin tried to comfort her, but she quickly shrugged him off. She cast a quick glance at Jermy, and then returned to staring ahead. Devin caught the glance, and looked at Jermy, his mouth shaped into a sneer. Jermy looked away quickly.

"You have any idea where we're going?" Rey asked him.

"Most likely a training camp just outside city limits, at least, I think that's where we're going. These things aren't meant for long travel underground."

"Well shit, how the hell are we going to get out of this one?"

"Simple Rey, we do what we're told, and hopefully we don't get shot."


	3. Chapter 2

This one is quite long, so be prepared to read quite a bit

_This one is quite long, so be prepared to read quite a bit. There is no need to read through the entire thing in one sitting, simply when you feel comfortable in doing so. The Fan Fiction editor thing hasn't allowed me to really edit things there, so I've had to do my editing on word, including this little bit here. So please, read and enjoy._

**Chapter 2**

The ride was uncomfortable. The hard wooden seats created a pain in Jermy's backside that he never guessed he could have felt. The dim lighting in the cabin of the APC made it nearly impossible to make out the features of the nearest of people, let alone people a distance away. The cramped room was starting to break some people as Jermy could hear sobbing and sniffing. To their credit, he had yet to hear someone cry.

Suddenly the APC jolted up, forcing some people out of their seat, and others into the wall. There was a couple yells of surprise, then all was quiet again. This meant one thing; the APC was resurfacing. There was a loud crunch as the drill of the subterranean APC broke surface, and leveled out; coming to a crashing stop, and slowly rolling forward. The drill stopped moving, and Jermy could hear the bustle of activity outside. He could hear the yells of men, gunfire, and propaganda. Suddenly the door to the cabin of the APC opened. Slowly at first, then quickly fell down to the ground.

The view was blinding after being in the dim light for an hour and a half. Jermy had to raise his arms in an effort to protect his eyes, and he could see others were doing the same. His sight slowly returned enough for him to get a good enough look outside. His mouth hung open as he looked around.

Soldiers ran back and forth while their drill sergeants barked orders at them to go faster. Farther behind them a firing range was going full fledged as the soldiers fired rifles, launched rockets, and barraged with fire at the holographic targets at the other end of the range. Then two soldiers came to the door of the APC, their Y shaped visors staring them down. They motioned for everybody to get out; no one argued.

Once outside, Jermy was even more awestruck by the sheer magnitude of the base. Everywhere he looked buildings meant for war were standing tall like looming giants over the land. There was a refinery for harvesting nearby tiberium, a series of barracks, power plants littered the area a bit north of them, and a comm. center was erected near the center. He looked around a bit more, and found that a feared obelisk of light was standing guard near a giant building which he guessed to be the HQ of the base. It dwarfed the rest of the buildings by at least a good hundred meters. It was built like a giant column; no windows were seen except for a giant reinforced window at the top. The top was shaped into a ball, and the countries of the world had been painted on it with incredible skill. Behind the ball was a giant silver hand which reached up and gripped the world-like ball with an iron clamp. It was a message to non-believers everywhere. He looked around and found that everyone was as awestruck as he was. Then a sharp yell came from in front of them. Sergeant Burke stood in front of them. "Attention!" He ordered. Immediately all the soldiers snapped to, but the new recruits were slow to form. A couple of soldiers walked behind them and hit them with the butt of their rifles to make them move to attention.

A man came striding up, his very presence creating an atmosphere of fear and awe. He walked tall, and with utter confidence in his ability and his faith. He was clad in a different uniform from that of the sergeant of the soldiers. It was a black leather outfit with the Nod insignia imprinted on it. Red stripes came down the arms and legs, other than that, the uniform was blank. A red cape flowed behind him that gave the impression of authority. They didn't need that to know that this was the guy that ran things here. He came and stood before them with his hands crossed behind him. A shocked looked came over Jermy's face, along with every other recruit, as they realized he had cybernetic implants. His entire left arm was a metal exoskeleton. It looked smooth and shiny, despite the obvious terms of use. It was bulky considered to his other arm, but looked like it deserved to be there. His right eye glowed a deep red, with a small exoskeleton reaching around his eyebrow and to his right ear. His face was scarred to a point that it looked like it had been stitched from random flesh and bits. His bulky body looked like it barely fit in the uniform. His body told stories of an unbelievable amount of injuries, yet he walked like a man of twenty.

Finally he stopped scanning the crowd, and turned to Burke. "This is all?" He asked in a voice so raspy and hard Jermy half expected the words to drool out of his mouth. The sergeant simply made a nod, and the man waved him off. The sergeant gave a salute, and moved off to where Jermy guessed was the shooting ranges. The man took a moment to look over the crowd before beginning. "Welcome conscripts, my name is Commander Granville. You will refer to me as Commander only." his voice low and dark with no hint of cheeriness, "You have been brought here for one reason and one reason alone; to fight in the name of Kane." He let the thought sink in a moment before continuing. "You will fight against the sickening order of GDI in the name of Kane. Faith follows those that believe. Death comes to those who don't. You will undergo immense training and operations, but in the end, all will be rewarded for those who follow in His footsteps. One vision! One purpose!" Despite the darkness of his voice, Jermy found himself strangely attracted to the man's words. His charisma was astonishing, and apparently the other recruits thought so as well. "Prepare yourselves conscripts, for your past lives are gone. Replaced by a new, better life. Count yourselves lucky." Suddenly the sergeant came back with a squad of soldiers. He nodded to the sergeant, and pointed to a hill off in the distance.

"You will run there without stopping! You will make it, or you won't, your choice. Sergeant, fill them in, I have to be going." The sergeant saluted and looked over the new recruits with disgust. "Let me make this as clear as possible, if you fall behind me, you will be killed! Simple? Good! Get it done, we start…now!" Gunfire erupted into the air, and at first, everyone was too afraid to move, then the first person fell. A bullet to the face and his head exploded like a melon. There was screams and crying as more people started to fall. Gore and blood started to cover those nearest, and that's when Rey pushed on his back.

"Jermy! Move!" Jermy was driven from his shocked stance as Rey forced him to started running. Everyone started to follow suit, but some of them simply weren't built for running the distance, which covered the length of the base from what Jermy could tell. A few other soldiers stood off to the side, placing bets and cheering at the insanity happening around him. Jermy couldn't believe they were simply allowing this to happen. How could they let it happen? Jermy jerked his around to see what was happening, and was shocked to see the sergeant and his men gaining. He had to go faster.

There was a sudden pain in his back, and at first, thought he had been shot. He looked down expecting a hole, but there was none. Then at his side darted Devin. A look of hatred over his face, he had just elbowed Jermy's back, trying to make him fall; then started the race. Devin ran ahead, and Jermy attempted to catch up. They weaved in and out of traffic, Devin always slightly ahead of him the entire time. The soldiers pointed at them, and placed more bets. It wasn't long before they were at the head of the group, summoning reserves of stamina that Jermy never thought he had.

He had finally caught up to Devin, and they were racing head to head, until Jermy started to pull slightly ahead. Just as he did however, a flash of motion came from his left, and a fist collided into his face. He slumped to the ground, and looked up. Devin was bearing an evil grin as he raced ahead. Fire flamed in Jermy's eyes as he got up, now running on adrenaline, anger, and hatred. He ran harder than he had thought he was possible of, and caught up to Devin in a blaze of speed. Devin only got the chance to look behind him with a surprised look over his face before he was tackled to the ground. They both rolled to the ground, and started exchanging blows. The rolling was hampering them as neither of them was able to land a decent blow. They finally stopped rolling with Jermy on top, landing a fist on Devin's face before he was brutally thrown off. Devin got up with amazing speed and hammered his knee into Jermy's chest. Jermy found it hard to breathe for a moment as Devin was on him in an instant. He landed a couple blows to the face before Jermy finally managed to throw him off of him.

Rey came running by, and landed an elbow on the back of Devin's head, throwing him to the ground. Rey kept pounding his back until there was more gunfire behind them. They looked back to see the soldiers only a few yards behind them. Both Rey and Jermy started to run, but Devin lay on the ground; his chest heaving in and out as he breathed, but did not get up. Jermy looked back to see that Devin was not going to get up anytime soon. He watched as the soldiers came ever closer to Devin, and a few thoughts sprang to his mind. He hated the guy with all his guts, he wanted nothing more than to see this guy dead. However, when, or if, they got into the army, this was one guy he wanted watching his back. He was tough, he was ruthless, and he would most likely kill without mercy. Jermy bit his lower lip as he finally pulled himself towards the latter of the choices. He stopped running, and turned around; heading for the unconscious body of Devin. "What the hell are you doing?!" Shouted Rey as he watched his friend head back.

"Just shut up and help me!" Jermy yelled back as he started to pick up Devin. Rey shook his head, and went back. The soldiers were nearly on top of them. They each grabbed an arm, and started dragging him towards the hill, where the rest of the surviving trainees were. He looked back to see the guards nearly right next to them. There was no way they were going to make it as a soldier looked at him through the Y shaped visor of his helmet. He could almost see the smile playing on his face as he twitched at his rifle; just waiting for them to be even a step behind them. It was obvious they weren't going to make it, when two more trainees came out of the crowd.

Vicky came rushing towards them, picking up one of Devin's legs, while another trainee, a younger kid with a muscular frame picked up the other. Their speed increased just enough to keep them ahead of the guards as they reached the hill. They dropped Devin on the hill, and collapsed in exhaustion. None of them could get up, let alone lift their heads as the sergeant neared them; his smile playing that of amusement.

"You were very close to being another body littered on the field. You are very lucky indeed." He looked up at the rest of them. "As for the remainder of you, you did well getting this far! We have weeded out the weakest of your number, and plan to continue so until only the strong and determined remain!" He then pointed to the people who had carried Devin across the field. "This is the very meaning of the brotherhood! We are brothers and sisters! We are servants to Kane! We are the future of the green crystal! You would do well to learn how to use each other, and protect each other! Otherwise, none of you will make it in this world of war! Peace through power!" He then turned to one of the soldiers by his side.

"Direct them to the barracks. Have them changed and ready, I want them at the firing ranges within the hour." The soldier nodded, and waved his rifle in the way they should go. They started to move off slowly, just barely having caught their breath. He fired into the air a couple of times, and that started everyone moving. A couple of people helped Jermy and the others to their feet; helping them to the barracks. It was all Jermy could do not to fall asleep in the person's arms. He looked to see two soldiers carrying Devin a different way. Jermy could tell they weren't going to kill him, or they simply would have done it there. He looked across the field to see at least one hundred or so people dead. They were the overweight, the underweight, and the unhealthy ones. At least the soldiers got what they wanted. They had succeeded in weeding out the weakest.

The barracks was very simple, with multiple cots running the length of the building. The barracks was able to house all of the remainder of them with room left over. The walls were of a deep gray, and there were few windows to speak of. This was a building meant to take a beating, not meant for comfort. There were showers at the far end of the building, except for some wooden boards protruding from the walls; there was very little privacy in these showers. Even that, however, did not stop some people from trying to get in there to get the sweat and grime off of them. However, the soldier quickly put a stop to that as he pushed them away from the showers and towards the cots. On each cot was a uniform of red and black, with the official symbol of Nod on the chest. It was different from the armor in the way that it did not have any plating, helmet, or any protection of any kind. It was simply a uniform. At first, people looked around for a changing of sorts, but found none. Jermy looked at the soldier to find his head cocked to the side, obviously enjoying the confusion of the trainees. Then he spoke.

"You change where you are!" His voice sounding slightly distorted through the filter. Everyone looked around, embarrassed. The girls especially looked skittish to remove their clothes in front of the guys, and likewise it was for most of the guys. The soldier tapped his gun in his other hand. "Do you people need some motivation?" Everyone started shaking their heads hastily, and starting stripping down to fit into the uniform. A few guys tried to sneak looks and were quickly slapped across the face as the girl realized what they were doing. Rey had been the first to finish changing, and wandered over to Jermy, and nudged him in the shoulder. Jermy was still trying to get on his shirt.

"Have you been getting an eyeful Jermy?" Rey asked with mischievousness lacing his voice. "I sure as hell have, and I tell you some of these chicks are hot while others I would not want to be in a dark room with." Jermy managed a weak laugh, but ended it in a cough. His face was bruised from where Devin had connected, and he was sure his chest was bruised as well. Rey's voice went from fun to seriousness. He put a hand on his shoulder. "Man, Devin got you good, didn't he?" Jermy managed a Nod, and finished slipping on the shirt. Jermy shook his head.

"Nothing I can't handle, and by the way, I'm too tired to be sneaking in looks." Suddenly Vicky walked by, and hit Rey hard on the back of the head. He shouted in surprise, and turned around. He was met with the hard stare of Vicky.

"If you think I didn't notice, then you're a dumbass." Vicky said as she stared hard into Rey's eyes; a playful smile over his face. She brushed past him, and looked at Jermy with caring eyes. "Are you alright? It looks like Devin got you good." Jermy shifted his gaze to the ground, pretending to fix his pant legs. The uniform was slightly baggy on everyone, but he guessed that was to allow room for muscle to grow.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing I can't handle." She smiled as she heard this.

"Good to hear, wouldn't want you dropping out before the real training started." She walked off to the other girls who had made it, and started talking to them. Jermy looked up to see Rey with an evil smile on his face.

"You got it bad, don't you?" Jermy slugged him on the shoulder, but was too weak to even make him stagger. Rey just laughed, and sat down on the cot.

"Shut up Rey." Then he looked over to see that kid that had helped them bring Devin across the field. He was already suited up, and enjoying what little rest he could get. Jermy nodded in his direction, and Rey looked. He recognized him, and nodded. They made their way over to the kid, who was at least a year younger then them; most likely seventeen. He smiled as they approached.

"Nice to see you guys aren't dead from exhaustion yet." He said as he stood to greet them. The kid was shorter than them by at least half a head, but had a thicker build than Rey. His face was beaming with optimism, and his eyes reflected his determination. His smile was slightly crooked, and the scar that lined from his right temple down to the bottom of his chin. His skin was darkly tanned, but nowhere near the shade of Rey's skin.

"Well, I guess we have you to thank for that." Jermy said before extending a hand. "Thanks for the help. The name's Jermy, and this here is Rey." Rey smiled and held up a hand. The kid took Jermy's outstretched hand in an enthusiastic and strong grip, and shook it firmly.

"It was no problem guys. The name's Vince, Vince Leray. I was just glad to be of help. No one should die if I can help them." Jermy didn't know much about the guy, but already he liked him. He was looking forward to working with this guy. Jermy opened his mouth to speak when the soldier spoke up yet again.

"Alright babies, time to move!" The soldier motioned out the door with his weapon as people groaned in discomfort at having barely any time to rest. Vince just walked past him smiling.

"We'll talk later, don't worry. See you there." With that he was out the door with the most enthusiasm in the entire group. Jermy could tell by the tapping of the gun into the soldier's hand that he was getting impatient. Jermy and Rey quickly ran outside.

Now that they had a good look at the base, it wasn't as large as it had first appeared. It was simply due to large buildings crunched together to give the overall impression of vastness. The base itself was fairly small, but there was no absence of soldiers as they marched across the grounds, casting a wary glance at the new trainees. Obviously they were not yet welcomed here. They made their way to an open area with firing slots and assorted weapons off to the side. Sergeant Burke was already there, his arms crossed and fingers impatiently tapping his forearms.

The last of the group finally managed to get there, and they were formed into a crude line. The sergeant finally loosened his arms, and walked down the line. As he approached Jermy, a playful smile came over his face. "I take it you're not going to start another fight are you? A few soldiers are mad because you screwed up their bets." Jermy didn't know what to say, and kept his mouth shut as the sergeant looked past him. He pointed in beside Jermy, and a body forced his way in.

Jermy looked over to see Devin glaring at him menacingly; murderous intent in his eyes. The sergeant caught the glare, and gripped Devin's uniform. "There will be no more fighting with in the group. The training itself will kill enough of you; the last thing we need is you killing each other. Get it through your head. Hatred is a good motivator, but only if it can be controlled and directed. Remember that." The sergeant went down the line, looked over everyone. Jermy caught another side glance at Devin, who was now staring straight ahead of him, paying no attention to him whatsoever.

By the looks of it, he had been cut slightly in a few places, but they had been cleaned. There was a bruise on his cheek from where Jermy had punched him, but nothing else was evident. Finally the sergeant finished searching the line, and returned to the front. He clasped his hands behind his back, and he stared loosely at everyone.

"Today, you will be learning how to use a weapon! If you can not handle firing a weapon, then you will end up like your fellow trainees over there!" He pointed behind them, and everyone turned to look. Soldiers were gathering the bodies of the fallen into wheelbarrows, and hastily pushing them somewhere unknown. A few people started to cry, but quickly caught themselves realizing where they were. A few people stood shocked at the sight, but the shoving of others forced them back into reality. In order not to die, they had to pass training. Everyone turned back to the sergeant, who was grinning evilly. "I guess no one wants to end up like that?" Heads were shaken, and a few murmurs of no passed through the crowd, then it was silent. There was still a good two hundred left. The population of their school had been cut by a third.

"Here's how we run things! My men over there will look you over, and guess what you might be best at! When that happens, they will grant you a weapon! These are specialized weapons which have been designed to self detonate should they be turned on a Nod soldier! So don't go getting any bright ideas of fighting your way out of here! It just isn't going to happen! There is no real ammo in any of these weapons, simply training rounds! You ten are up first!" He pointed to the far end of the line. The ten kids there nervously looked at each other before stepping up.

They went through the process of getting their body checked through a portable scanner which told them of muscle density, bone strength, reaction time, etc. The ten finally got their weapons, all pulse rifles, and stepped up to the booths. The sergeant spoke up again.

"You each have five targets which need to be killed. If any of these targets manages to get to where you are standing, then you will be punished depending on how many make it!" The ten shared nervous and scared glances, and stared down range. A few were shaking, their weapons barely aiming straight, while others were calm about what was happening.

Suddenly there was movement at the far end of the range, about hundred and fifty yards down. Jermy could tell by the bluish glow on them that they were simply holograms, but as they got closer he was shocked at how real they looked. Despite the bluish tint and glowing from all of them, he would have mistaken them for real soldiers, their helmet a giant visor on the face, followed by the broad chest plate which looked like it could repel any pulse rifle. The armor itself looked slightly more bulky then the Nod armor, but he doubted they could move as fast as the Nod soldiers could.

Some of the trainees panicked, and fired uncontrollably down range. As the targets got closer, they got a few lucky hits. Jermy was surprised to see that they didn't simply disappear at the slightest hits; they took the shots like a regular soldier would. One got hit in the shoulder, and took the hit by stumbling back, but continuing forwards.

The calm ones picked their targets carefully, and took them out with precision, aiming at the joints to slow them down first. He could tell this wasn't their first time firing a weapon. After a very short five minutes, the firing ceased. No more targets were coming at them. They all dropped their weapons to their sides, and the soldiers came by and picked them up. They were then lined up before the sergeant, who held two pistols in his hand. One was of standard design, but the other one was slightly different. The soldier came up beside him with a data sheet. The sergeant walked to the first one, one that had been firing calmly. The soldier looked through and said, "None." The sergeant nodded, and moved onto the next one. This one had panicked, and even still looked very scared. The soldier read from the sheet again. "Two." The sergeant nodded, and aimed for the chest of the trainee with the modified pistol. Two shots rang out as the trainee fell to the ground screaming.

Through all the screaming you would expect blood to be gushing out in pails, but there was none. There were two holes in the uniform, but the sergeant had used training rounds. He would not die, but his chest would burn painfully for awhile. The sergeant moved onto the next one. The soldier read again. "Four" The sergeant nodded, and raised the standard pistol to the trainee's head. His head exploded in a shower of blood and gore before the body finally realized it was dead, and dropped to the ground. Shocked silence was met from the crowd of trainees, but the sergeant moved on as if nothing had happened.

Sergeant Burke went through the line like that. Four went with out being punished at all, three went with a few training rounds to the chest, the other three were brutally executed. The survivors were sent to stand in the line. "You ten are next!" This wave included Jermy, and he stepped forward cautiously. A line up formed to the three guards checking for what weapon they would most likely be suited for. They checked Rey, and nodded in agreement, obviously talking to each other through different comm. channels. They bent over, and handed Rey a shoulder mounted rocket launcher. Rey gripped the weapon, and teetered in spot as he misjudged the weight of the weapon. It was easily as tall as him standing up, and as thick as his arm. However, he gripped it with relative ease, and the soldiers handed him a bunch of training rockets, quickly showing him how to reload the weapon. He then and walked over to the stalls. Jermy was next, and stepped forward.

There was a slight tingling as the hand-held scanner went over his body. It only lasted a second as the test quickly ended. They took a brief moment to look over the results, and provided him with a pulse rifle. He made his way to the stalls, and soon everyone had been provided with a weapon of sorts. Devin had also been given a pulse rifle, but Vince had been given another launcher. Jermy gripped the weapon tightly, and aimed downrange. He knew he had to get at least two, or his head would be blown straight from his shoulders. Talk about motivation. Then it started; the bluish glows of the holograms getting brighter as they got closer. Jermy re-gripped his rifle, waiting for a good shot. Already shots were ringing out around him as people tried desperately to hit them. Jermy, however, was oblivious to any noise around him. His concentration so deep that he could only see the glowing soldiers near.

His mind went through all sorts of scenarios. Whether or not to go for the limbs, go for center mass, or try for the headshot. He ran these through, and decided to aim for the spot where he would have the greatest success, the center mass. The lead soldier neared, and he calmly let out a burst. Three of five of the shots found their mark, and knocked the hologram to the ground, which then disappeared as if it was never there. He switched targets, firing another burst of fire.

This time, his shots went slightly wild, and hit the knees of the soldier, forcing him down into a crouch. Jermy fired again, and connected with the helmet. It fell back and disappeared. He looked over to see that the other three were much closer, and the need to aim was secondary. He fired burst after burst, some missing, but the majority hitting. The last one managed to crawl up to within a meter of him before he finished it with a round to the head. Then it was over.

It had seemed like the exercise had taken half an hour, but in reality, five minutes had passed. He held his weapon by his side as the soldiers came by, and took it. They were then marched to where the first ten had been marched to. They stood there, and watched as the sergeant continued the process from the first ten.

The first three had missed a few, and took a couple training rounds for it. The girl beside Jermy started whimpering, and before he could even speak a word, her head exploded, spraying him with gore and blood. As the blood covered him, a sensation of disgust, shock, and fear passed over him. He knew he had not missed one, but he had just realized how that could easily been him. The sergeant passed him without notice, and Jermy shook himself out of the drunken stupor that had consumed him; trying desperately to get the blood off of his face, but only succeeded in smearing it over his face like some tribal brute. By the time he had thought to look, the Sergeant was already down the line, and at Rey. He raised the modified pistol, and fired into his chest. There was a grunt of pain heard, and he fell to his knees, but he did not whimper nor did he fall over. He stood right back up, plucking the training round from his chest. After everything was done, they were put back in the line. Rey managed to wedge himself beside Jermy. "Well that was a load of bullshit!"

"What?" Jermy asked now confused by his friend's hostile reaction.

"Well, I had the rocket, right? So instead of firing at soldiers, they had some sort of walker come at me. I managed to get four, but the last one got to me before I could reload, and now my chest is going to hurt like a bitch for awhile." His face had turned sour, and he had his arms folded across his chest.

"I hadn't noticed." Said Jermy truthfully, "I was to busy concentrating on my targets, managed to get them all at least." Rey nodded, but did not say anything.

"You ten are next!" The sergeant shouted.

They finally arrived back at their barracks drained of energy, and desperately needing rest. The training had gone well into the night, and had 'weeded' out another fifty trainees. Most of the trainees went straight to the cot they had managed to grab, and slumped down; instantly falling asleep. Others sat on the edge of their beds, discussing what happened. Jermy had finally finished cleaning the blood off of his face, and was sitting down on his bed with Vince and Rey. "You just need to ease up a bit more on the trigger. Pulling the trigger harder can cause harder recoil, which then ends up making it longer to reload as you wait for the weapon to settle down." Vince said, his voice trying to be diplomatic and helpful.

"I'll try and remember that the next time I shoot at walkers Vince, thanks." Rey said with more than a hint of bitterness in his voice. He was jealous that Vince had managed to get all the walkers, and Jermy listened to the conversation just barely. He was very tired, and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but a question had been bugging him. Vince was doing to well, and being too cheery. Something was just not right about his situation. He finally decided to voice his opinion.

"Vince, I know this might cause offence, but it almost seems as if you've done this before." Vince's features went serious and stiffened at the comment. He looked down at the ground, and took a deep breath. He held his chin in his hand, as if arguing with himself whether or not to tell the truth. He then finally spoke.

"I'm what you guys might call a fanatic. I was fighting for Nod before we were even brought here. My family would head out to the Nod frontlines, and help transport supplies, since that was pretty much all we could do. Not being professional soldiers and all. Well, one time, while delivering supplies, we were attacked. GDI had sent a few Orca fighters far into Nod territory to try to cause mayhem. My dad and sister were killed in the initial blast, and I had to take a launcher in order to defend myself. I ended up taking one of those bastards out before they started retreating in need for re-supply. The toll wasn't large, but it still pains me every time I think of my dad and sister." He paused as he continued to look at the ground some more. "If you don't mind, I think I'll go to sleep now. Have a nice rest guys." With that, he got up slowly, and made his way to his cot. Jermy and Rey stared after him as he went.

"It's strange." Started Rey, "I would have never have taken that guy for a fanatic, but I guess that explains how he was so calm and cheerful about this whole thing." Jermy nodded and yawned. Rey shrugged. "I guess we're all going to become fanatics at one point or another now. Let's get some rest, see ya in the morning." Jermy nodded, and lay down on his cot; everything that he had not time for before, no forcing its way into his mind. The thought he would most likely never see his mother again, he could never go back to his normal life, never being able to live in peace again. Already today around a hundred and fifty kids had died this day. It was crazy to think that it could all happen within twenty four hours, but it had.

Jermy's mind tried to keep going through everything, but sheer exhaustion kept him from doing so. Finally he into a deep slumber.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Jermy was in a state of total bliss as his body practically shut down to get some rest. Everything around him didn't matter, only that he got the rest that he so desperately needed. He cared not for anyone else around him, nor did he care anything. The sleep felt that good, but everyone knows that good things never last. The door burst inwards on the many sleeping inhabitants in the barracks, rocking them from there sleep in a state of shock. Jermy woke with such a start that he fell off his bed onto the floor. He looked up to see the man that had dragged him from his normal life; the man who had changed his life in a matter of a day. This man was Sergeant Burke. He strode in with a smirk on his face; moving forward until he was standing just a few feet from the door, with two other soldiers flanking his sides. "I'm sorry; did I wake you from your sleep? Maybe I'll go out and politely knock on the door next time." His voice thick with sarcasm and mocking. He then spit on the ground in disgust. "Well guess what!? That isn't going to happen, so suck it up and get dressed!" One of the other trainees had the courage to ask a question.

"What time is it?" The trainee's eyes barely half open. The sergeant snapped his head towards him, and walked over. He crouched down to him, and looked him in the eyes.

"It's time for you to get your lazy ass up!" He said before slapping the trainee hard across the back of the head. He stood up and walked back to his former spot. "However, if you are looking for a specific time, then it is four am. Get used to it, for this will be the time you will be waking up from now on! I want you all outside and lined up with in ten minutes! Move!" Everyone groggily got to their feet as the sergeant made his way out. The soldiers were left standing there, watching everyone as the slowly got dressed. Even Rey was too weary to sneak in a couple looks. With in the ten minutes, the last of them had marched outside and formed in a line. The brisk morning chill causing some to shiver. It was the beginning of spring, but the last of the winter chills had not left them yet. Jermy even found himself shaking, but he managed to keep it to only his hands. The sergeant then made his way to the front of the line, and faced back towards the rest of the trainees. "Today, we will be making a quick jog around the base, so hop to it! If you fall behind, I'll leave it up to my men to decide what they want to do!" Everyone shifted nervously as they looked at the soldiers, who seemed to be smiling behind their masks. The sergeant started off, and everyone did their best to keep pace, which was damn near sprinting.

The 'quick' jog turned out to be a twenty minute sprint around the perimeter of the base. Jermy did his best to try and remember where everything was, but he was too busy to really take in the sights. He had to put all his concentration into just staying with the line, let alone breathe. A few people fell behind, and never got a chance to rejoin as the soldiers were on them in an instant, hitting them with their rifles and fists. Jermy could do nothing but pick up the pace, and continue.

The run finally ended back at the barracks, a total of five people had dropped from the line. Jermy didn't know whether they were dead or simply too far injured to continue. As soon as the sergeant stopped at the barracks, everyone fell to the ground gasping for air. The sergeant just took one long breath, and looked around. He gave maybe ten seconds for everyone to get their breath back before forcing everyone up to their feet. He then formed everyone else into a line, and faced them.

Now, normally I would like to continue with the training, but my orders are to give you an hour for breakfast, and then continue. Apparently we're supposed to take it easy on you for the first few days. So you might as well go find the mess hall, see ya there. Remember, you only have an hour for breakfast." With that, the sergeant and all his men went in separate directions, leaving the trainees dazed and confused.

"Well aren't they going to show us where it is?" Asked one trainee as he made his way forward.

"That's the whole point dumbass; we have to find it ourselves! C'mon guys, let's go find it and get something to eat." Another trainee spoke up, heading in one direction. Everyone just kind of mumbled something, and started following him. Jermy stopped, and took a look around. Then he looked back the other way, and a wave of memory came back to him of him seeing a tiny sign that said 'mess hall'.

"Wait, guys, I think you're going the wrong way." The trainee that had been leading them turned around and faced Jermy.

"How the hell would you know? It's not like you have seen more then we have."

"Maybe I have, I think we passed it on our way around the base." The trainee that was leading them, walked up to Jermy, and looked past him. Jermy got a good look of him. He had short brown hair that was just down to his eyebrows. His face seemed as if this guy had been through all this before, because he seemed to be aging with worry. He was slightly taller than Jermy, and had a tattoo of a spear going through a cross on his wrist. His eyes seemed to pass Jermy, and look to the base behind him, before he finally gave a nod.

"Fine, if you have a better heading then I do, then let's go. I want some food in my belly right now." Jermy just nodded, and started walking in the direction. Everyone else just seemed to follow like sheep.

The walk only took ten minutes, and it would have been shorter had Jermy not lost his bearings and look for something he remembered before continuing. However, they finally arrived at the mess hall, which was bustling with activity. Nod soldiers and even a few officers milled around talking to each other, the noise was almost deafening. Then the trainees walked in, and everything got silent. They stared at them long and hard, and a few started smirking and a few others started whispering to each other. The trainees looked at the food the others were eating; flapjacks with syrup and a side of toast. A few started licking their lips, for it seemed like ages since they had something like this. They got in line to the food, and grabbed a tray. A nod soldier before Jermy completely ignored him as he grabbed his flapjacks and toast, and then it was Jermy's turn. The cook, all dressed in white fatigues with a scorpion's tail in the middle of his chest simply looked him over, and handed him a bowl of something that looked like grey gravy with brown chunks in it. Jermy looked down in confusion, then back up at the cook.

"We ran out, next!" The cook said with more than a hint of sarcasm. Everyone watched them as one by one they grabbed their slop, and made their way to a table in the back. The trainee that had tried to lead everyone away looked at the slop in disgust. Then, he entered the wave of trainees heading to the back, and calmly switched his plate with a soldier's. They finally all got their food, and sat down. Rey sat next to Jermy, and looked at the trainee that had stolen the food. He smiled a bit as the trainee started smiling back. He took a bite before a gagging sound came from the group of soldiers. The trainees looked back to see one of the soldiers get up, and start spitting whatever was in his mouth out. He looked around, intent on killing someone, and came over to the trainee table, and saw that the one person had stolen his plate of food. He grabbed the trainee by the neck, and threw him to the ground, where he continued to pounce on him, and punch him in the face. Suddenly, three other trainees jumped the one soldier, and managed to throw him off of the other. The next thing Jermy knew, two sides had formed, a soldier's side, and a trainee's side. Both sides were ready to beat the shit out of each other, but it was quite a lopsided battle in the soldier's favor. Before, however, the fighting could start, the sergeant walked in. Everyone turned to look at him. He simply shrugged, and went to get his breakfast; flapjacks and toast.

The nod soldiers finally settled down, but not before spitting in the direction of the recruits. The recruits simply stared hard and long at the soldiers as they went to sit down. The recruit that had stolen the food waved off any help, and stood up on his own. A bruise already starting to form on his face, and blood was trickling down his nose. He simply smiled and sat down. He reached for the slop that they had been given, and started eating it without a problem. Well, after he did this, the rest of the recruits deemed it safe to eat the slop, and finally dove into the food. Rey could not stop laughing as he looked at the trainee that had stolen the food. Finally he managed to control himself to ask a question. "Why the hell would you do something so stupid?"

The other trainee looked up at him. "The only one stupid here is the person who allowed his food to be swiped. If he's supposed to be a nod soldier, it's kind of embarrassing to let a new guy steal something from right underneath you." Rey thought this over for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"You know, you're right. I'll have to pull that trick sometime. By the way, the name's Rey, and this here is my buddy Jermy." The trainee nodded and smiled.

"Cliff Bowen."

The recruits sat there for another good twenty minutes discussing whatever came to mind, be it what happened the day before, to what they got for their birthday. For most, this wasn't a traumatic event; they all had a hope of eventually being returned to their family. Until finally a bell rang, and everyone started filing out. The recruits simply followed, and were herded together like cattle. The sergeant met them outside.

"Hope you all had a good breakfast, cause now we start with the physical training! Follow me, and anyone that is stupid enough to fall behind will be left to the mercy of the soldiers who wanted to kill you just minutes ago!" The sergeant started off, and the recruits immediately started following, none of them wanted to be left with the soldiers. The run itself was short compared to the one earlier in the morning, only took five minutes of near sprinting to reach the training area. This one was different to that of the firing ranges, as it had a circle in the middle with a small fence around it, several different weight stations, and an open area of to the right. All in all, it just screamed training grounds. The sergeant stopped, and everyone else stopped in suite, if only to catch their breath. The sergeant then walked over to the open area, and had everyone lined up in rows of ten, and lay on the ground. "Today, you will be doing a hundred sit ups! If you fail to complete the hundred sit ups, then you will do another hundred sit ups with me sitting dropping rocks on your head. You start…now!" Everyone followed without question, they knew he meant business with his threats, and even though this one didn't necessarily mean death, the extra hundred sit ups would kill you for sure. The sergeant wandered up and down the rows, kicking people he thought were going to slowly. By thirty, Jermy's stomach was burning, and he didn't know if he would be able to reach hundred. He looked around slightly to see that he wasn't the only one having this problem. Then the sergeant spoke up again. "Wait, did I say rocks, I meant grenades!" With that extra bit of motivation, Jermy doubled his efforts, and finally managed to reach a hundred. His stomach felt like it was on fire, and everything seemed to pound from exertion. The sergeant however, just gave a grunt.

"So you made a hundred sit ups, whoop de fucking do! Now we go for a hundred pushups! We start…now!" Everyone slowly flipped over, and started, not wanting to feel the wrath of the sergeant. A few soldiers walked by to laugh at the recruits as the struggled with their pushups. One soldier even walked up to the recruits, and started doing his pushups with him, showing no sign of exhaustion as he doubled the recruits number of pushups in half the time. He then stood up and laughed a bit more.

"Poor little trainees having problems with the simplest of tasks!" Jermy saw Cliff ready a retort, but then hold it back as he realized he was too tired to take another beating. About ten minutes passed before the last of them finished their pushups, and the sergeant gave a break of about ten seconds.

"Alright, everyone, on your feet! Now we go for a hundred jumping jacks! We start…now!" Groans passed through the crowd, and the sergeant glared at them, which immediately got them starting their jumping jacks. Jermy was tired, and lifting his arms seemed like lifting a hundred ton weight. Yet he continued for the fear of death was strong here, and the sergeant wouldn't hesitate to put them down.

Finally, the group of recruits finished the jumping jacks. "Alright, now you may rest for a moment." The sergeant declared. As soon as he said this, everyone dropped to the ground gasping for air. The recruits were absolutely quiet, too tired to even talk. After about a minute, the sergeant was ushering everybody up again, and forcing them into the line up again. "Alright, I want the boys on this side," He said, pointing to his right, "And the girls on this side." He said pointing to his left. Everyone followed groggily, and waited, and then he finally continued. "Since it's obvious that boys and girls have completely different builds, their training has to be different, so from now on, boys will train at different times, and be given a different barracks. Girls, meet your new trainer." At first, all the girls seemed excited to get away from Sergeant Burke, but then they saw who would be training. A tall slender figure clad in armor came walking up with more than a hint of arrogance. The armor wasn't as bulky as the sergeant's, and fitted to the figure of the person. The armor almost seemed as if it was just a safety precaution. Jermy watched as the woman walked up with her brown hair cut short, and silver eyes piercing through every one of them. Her skin looked baby smooth, almost as if it had never been touched from birth, but every other part of her shouted experience in battle. She hefted a pulse rifle on her shoulder, and an antenna was spurting out of her back. She looked over all of the recruits with disgust.

"This is what they gave us Burke?" She asked, her tone almost spitting at them.

"Yeah…Ladies, this is Sergeant Jenny Sampson! She will be your trainer from now on!"

"I guess we have to make due with what we got, but so help me, if any of you slow the rest down, I'll put you twelve feet under! Understood?" The girls simply shifted around slightly, none of them daring to speak a word. Sergeant Sampson simply stared at them with her cold hard eyes, and spoke even louder. "When I ask you a question you will answer it immediately, understood?"

"Yes Ma'am!" They all shouted in a sloppy manner. Sampson got a disgusted look on her face, and turned to Burke.

"Ten to two their dead by the end of training." All the girls got a scared look on their face, and looked at each other fearfully. They thought that Sergeant Burke was bad…

All the boys watched as the girls were marched away, not knowing if they would see them again, or if they would all be dead by the time they were actually inducted to the army. Either way, all the boys shifted around nervously, and the sergeant just looked at them with a smile. "Rest's over! I want you boys on those weights and lifting everything you can! I will make men of you yet!"

The weight lifting took most of the afternoon, skipping right through lunch. It wasn't until late afternoon that the sergeant passed around some MRE's, stating that they would have to get used to it, because they wouldn't always get to eat from the mess hall. After the weight lifting, the sergeant and his soldiers led them to the firing ranges again, where they were given their same weapons. It was the same thing; anything past two misses got you killed. Jermy walked up to the firing range, and let the gun take his whole concentration. The holographic soldiers came walking up again, but this time, they were shooting. Bright flares of light came from their rifles, throwing some people off their aim, but Jermy simply waited until the flash ended, then shot the hologram with a burst to the chest. He continued with this pattern until not a hologram was left standing. When he finally stopped shooting, and turned around, Sergeant Burke was standing right behind him. He seemed to give a nod, and move on. Jermy walked up to Rey. "How long was he behind me?"

Rey simply shrugged. "Far as I could tell, the last bit of the exercise. Maybe he likes the way you shoot?" Jermy just shook his head, and watched as the few people who did miss got punished with a training round to the chest. At least no one was killed this time around. Jermy watched, and then noticed that Devin had gone up to the firing range. The weird thing was that he had a different weapon with him. It was a longer rifle with a scope on it, obviously it was a sniper. Jermy watched in fascination as he looked down scope, fired, and a hologram's head came flying neatly off. He pulled the chamber back, and a glowing round came flying out. He fired again, and another hologram fell to the ground. Jermy had to admit, he had great aim. However, he would rather have the pulse rifle rather than the sniper, it would just seem safer.

The end of the day didn't come quickly enough, for it seemed to take four days to actually get to the end of this one. All the guys wandered tiredly into the barracks, and stood at the doorway, seeing that now half the barracks was empty. They only paused for a moment, however, and walked to their bunks again. Most of the boys went to the showers right away, some simply collapsed into their beds. Jermy went to the shower, stripped, and let the cold water wash over him. It felt incredibly good, and he wished he could stay like this forever, but then the water shut off. He looked around in confusion, and looked down at the tap. A red light was flashing just above the switch, stating that he had spent two minutes in the shower. Obviously, that was the only amount of time allowed spent in the shower. Jermy slammed the switch, and grabbed himself a towel.

After getting himself cleaned up, he went to his bunk, and lay down on it. Shortly thereafter Rey and Vince joined him. None of them said anything for a short while, and then Rey decided to start. "You know what the bad thing about this is? It's that we have to get up at four O'clock in the morning, and do it all over again." Vince just nodded, but Jermy didn't even move. Rey and Vince were handling the training better simply because they were in better shape then Jermy, but he was just a scrawny kid that could run and keep up.

"If you don't mind guys, I think we should get all the rest we can possibly get." They both nodded, and moved off to their bunks. Jermy covered his eyes with his hands, and thought of everything that went on today. The hardest part of the day had to be seeing the looks of fear on all the girls as they were practically marched to their deaths. Jermy just shook his head, and let exhaustion take over, slipping once again into a deep sleep.


End file.
